Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rathwell School No. 578 (Rathwell, Municipality of Norfolk Treherne)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Rathwell School District was established formally in May 1889 and a school building was erected in the village of Rathwell in what is now the Municipality of Norfolk Treherne. In 1903, it was replaced by a two-storey wood frame building designed by Brandon architect Walter H. Shillinglaw. In 1956, the district was consolidated with Gordon Union School No. 393 (earlier located at SE2-9-9W) to form Rathwell Consolidated School No. 578. The building was demolished in 1961 and replaced by the present structure. In 1967, it became part of the Tiger Hills School Division No. 29.

On 18 July 1982, a stone monument topped by the original school bell was erected by former students and teachers in front of the last Rathwell School building, which is now closed and used for industrial purposes.

Principals

Period	Principal
1900-1901	John T. Little
1902-1903	?
1904-1906	Lilburne Lorne Dawson (1877-1942)
1906	?
1906	Jessie J. McKenzie
1907-1908	Mary K. Anderson
1908	Abram M. Cronkhite
1909	Douglas M. Brown
1909-1910	Adam Sharpe Gibson (1880-1935)
1909-1911	Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (1865-1944)
1911-1918	Clifford Knox Rogers (1889-1968)
1918-1919	Angus McNevin (1862-1923)
1919-1923	J. A. Draper
1923	Edith Ann Fingland (1877-1957)
1924	James Andrew McKaughan (1877-1968)
1924-1925	Omar Ernest Campbell (1868-1936)
1925-1926	James Andrew McKaughan (1877-1968)
1926-1927	Mary J. Perry
1927-1928	John Alfred Hammond (1898-1988)
1928-1931	Wilfrid Gatley Booth (1904-1986)
1931-1932	Charles Edward Clare Durnin (c1903-1974)
1932-1936	Wesley Sterling McGill (1904-1986)
1936-1939	Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (1884-1976)
1939-1948	James Austin Delgaty (1894-1974)
1948-1952	Clair Edmond Dawson (?-1995)
1952-1953	Lorne Avery Chapple (1920-2000)
1953-1956	William George Cooper (1911-1983)
1956-1964	Maurice Alfred Decosse (1928-1977)
1964-1966	Wayne James William Hollier
1966-1967	Bernhard W. Wiens
1967-1968	Violet Adeline Palmer
1968-1970	G. S. Miller
1970-1971	Peter Deczycia
1971-1973	Ronald Ivan Bell
1973-1980	Mark Richard Singleton

Teachers

Among the teachers who worked at Rathwell School were Minnie A. Ranton (Spring-Fall 1890), John J. Gibson (Spring - pt Fall 1891), Tillie A. Couch (pt Fall 1891 & Spring 1894 - Fall 1895), Jane L. Williams (Spring 1892 - Fall 1893), Herbert L. Walsh (Spring-Fall 1896), and John T. Little (Spring 1897 - Fall 1899).

Period	Teachers
1900	John T. Little, Anna M. Stewart
1901	Josephine M. Dow (Fall), John T. Little, Annie M. Stewart (Spring)
1902	?
1903	?
1904	Lilburne Lorne Dawson (senior grades), Lola Duff (grades ?), ? (junior and intermediate grades)
1905	Anna B. “Annie” Bell (Fall), Lilburne Lorne Dawson (senior grades), Marie C. Jacobs (Spring), Edythe Marily? [Manly?] (Spring), Alice McLean (Fall)
1906	Anna B. “Annie” Bell (grades 1-2, June & August-December), M. Allan Davis (grades ?, January-?), Lilburne Lorne Dawson (grades 7-9, January - pt April), Lillian Kinsman? (grades ?, January-?), Jessie J. McKenzie (grades 7-9, August-December), Alice McLean (grades 3-6, January-June), Clara Manly (grades 3-6, August-December), ? (grades 7-9, pt April - June)
1907	Mary K. Anderson (grades 7-10, August-December), Anna B. “Annie” Bell (grades 1-3, January-June), Edith M. Bothwell (grades 3-6), Jessie J. McKenzie (grades 7-10, January-June), Velma Roxburgh (grades 1-2, August-December)
1908	Mary K. Anderson (grades 8-10, January-June), Edith M. Bothwell (grades 3-6, January-June; grades 4-7, August-December), Abram M. Cronkhite (grades 8-10, August-December), Margaret C. McDonald (grades 1-3, August-December), Velma Roxburgh (grades 1-2, January-June)
1909	Edith M. Bothwell (grades 4-7), Douglas M. Brown (grades 8-10, January-June), Adam Sharpe Gibson (grades 8-10, September-December), Margaret C. McDonald (grades 1-3)
1910	Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (grades 8-10, September-December), Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-7), Adam Sharpe Gibson (grades 8-10, January-June), Margaret C. McDonald (grades 1-3)
1911	Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (grades 8-10, January-June), Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-7), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 8-10, August-December)
1912	(January-June only): Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), A. Ethel Hanson (grades 4-7), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 8-10)
1912-1913	Betty E. Christilaw (grades 4-7, August-December), Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-7, January-June), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 8-10)
1913-1914	Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-8), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11)
1914-1915	Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-8), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11)
1915-1916	Alberta Emblem (grades 5-8, August-December), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11), Edna Warren (grades 4-8, January-June)
1916-1917	Hetty Grime (grades 1-3, August-December), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11), Lily L. Ross [Rose?] (grades 1-3, January-June), Edna Warren (grades 4-8)
1917-1918	Laura Hinchliffe (grades 1-2), Hilda Koester (grades 5-8), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11), Lily L. Ross [Rose?] (grades 3-5)
1918-1919	J. A. Draper (grades 6-8, January-June), Laura Hinchliffe (grades 1-2), Hilda Koester (grades 6-8, September-December), Angus McNevin (grades 9-11), Lily L. Ross [Rose?] (grades 3-5)
1919-1920	J. A. Draper (grades 9-11), Laura Hinchliffe (grades 1-2), Gertrude C. Hurton (grades 6-8), Mary Mott (grades 3-5)
1920-1921	Margaret Arthur (grades 5-8), J. A. Draper (grades 9-11), Etta White (grades 1-4, wife of F. R. White)
1921-1922	J. A. Draper (grades 9-11), Ethel P. Miller (grades 6-8), Margaret Thompson (grades 3-5), Etta White (grades 1-2)
1922-1923	J. A. Draper (grades 9-12), Ethel P. Miller (grades 6-8, August-December), Margaret J. Moore (grades 6-8, January-June), Etta White (grades 1-2)
1923-1924	Edith Ann Fingland (grades 9-11, September-December), Helena McAlpine (grades 3-5), Jessie W. McCreary (grades 1-2, January-June), James Andrew McKaughan (grades 9-11, January-June), Margaret J. Moore (grades 6-8), Etta White (grades 1-2, September-December)
1924-1925	Omar Ernest Campbell (grades 9-11), Helena McAlpine (grades 3-5), Margaret J. Moore (grades 6-8), E. Mae Taylor (grades 1-2)
1925-1926	M. A Chalmers (grades 6-8), Helena J/I? McAlpine (grades 3-5), James Andrew McKaughan (grades 9-11), E. Mae Taylor (grades 1-2)
1926-1927	M. A Chalmers (grades 4-7), Mary J. Perry (grades 8-11, September-March; grades 8-10, April-June), E. Mae Taylor (grades 1-3)
1927-1928	A. M. Balfour (grades 4-7, pt March - June), M. A Chalmers (grades 4-7, September - pt March), John Alfred Hammond (grades 8-11), ? (grades 1-3)
1928-1929	Wilfrid Gatley Booth (grades 8-12), Margaret Fyfe Castell (grades 1-3), Olive M. (grades 4-7)
1929-1930	Wilfrid Gatley Booth (grades 8-11), Violet I. Bruce (grades 4-7), Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-3, wife of Wesley Sterling McGill)
1930-1931	Wilfrid Gatley Booth (grades 8-11), Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-3), Mary Jane Webster (grades 4-7)
1931-1932	Charles Edward Clare Durnin (grades 8-11, September - pt November; grades 9-11, pt November - June), Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-3), Mary Jane Webster (grades 4-7, September - pt November; grades 4-8, pt November - June)
1932-1933	Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-4), Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Mary Jane Webster (grades 5-8)
1933-1934	Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Doris Marie Martin (grades 1-4), Mary Jane Webster (grades 5-8)
1934-1935	Mary McIntyre Cummings (grades 1-4, February-June), Ailsa M. Little (grades 1-4, January), Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Doris Marie Martin (grades 1-4, September-December), Mary Jane Webster (grades 5-8)
1935-1936	Mary McIntyre Cummings (grades 5-8), Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Doris Marie Martin (grades 1-4)
1936-1937	Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (grades 9-11), ? (grades 1-8)
1937-1938	Thelma Bessie Brown (grades 5-8), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4), Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (grades 9-11)
1938-1939	Thelma Bessie Brown (grades 5-8), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4), Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (grades 9-11)
1939-1940	Thelma Bessie Brown (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4)
1940-1941	James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4), Winnifred Frances Smith (grades 5-8)
1941-1942	James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12, August-October; grades 9-11, November-June), Jean Frances Rusk (grades 5-8), ? (grades 1-4)
1942-1943	James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Vivian Doris Glass (grades 5-8), Ada Marie Moffatt (grades 1-4)
1943-1944	James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4, January-June), Vivian Doris Glass (grades 5-8), Mary S. Ferguson Smith (grades 1-4, October-December), Dorothy Struthers (grades 1-4, September)
1944-1945	Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Nora Kelly (grades 1-4)
1945-1946	Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-11), Nora Kelly (grades 1-4)
1946-1947	Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-11), Nora Kelly (grades 1-4)
1947-1948	Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-11), Dorothy Lillian Hanks (grades 1-4)
1948-1949	Jeanne Marie Baille (grades 5-8), Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Kathleen Elizabeth Shorthose (grades 1-4)
1949-1950	Margaret Mary Alcock (grades 5-8), Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)
1950-1951	Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4), Margaret Jane Viola Ross (grades 5-8)
1951-1952	Helen Harriet Borthistle (grades 5-8), Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)
1952-1953	Helen Harriet Borthistle (grades 5-8), Lorne Avery Chapple (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)
1953-1954	Monica Joan Charles (grades 5-8), William George Cooper (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)
1954-1955	Monica Joan Charles (grades 5-8), William George Cooper (grades 9-12), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)
1955-1956	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-4, August-December; grades 1-3, January-June), William George Cooper (grades 9-11, September-December; grades 10-11, January-June), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 7-9, January-June), George Barry Wherrett (grades 5-8, August-December; grades 4-6, January-June)
1956-1957	Clara Alma Beswitherick (grades 3-5), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-12), George Barry Wherrett (grades 6-8)
1957-1958	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Dave P. Miller (grades 6-8), Paul Harry Rudiak (grades 4-5, pt February - June), Kathleen Simms (grades 4-5, August - pt February)
1958-1959	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Harry E. Klassen (grades 6-8), Paul Harry Rudiak (grades 4-5)
1959-1960	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Paul Harry Rudiak (grades 6-8), Kathleen Simms (grades 3-5)
1960-1961	Linda Karen Becker (grades 3-5), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Roy Verner Johnson (grades 6-8)
1961-1962	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5), Roy Verner Johnson (grades 6-8)
1962-1963	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5), Douglas Brian “Doug” Reynolds (grades 6-8)
1963-1964	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-10), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5), Douglas Brian “Doug” Reynolds (grades 6-8)
1964-1965	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Wayne James William Hollier (grade 3 & 6-8), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5)
1965-1966	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Marie Christine Delf (grades 4-5), Wayne James William Hollier (grade 3 & 6-8)
1966-1967	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Bernhard W. Wiens (grades 6-8), ? (grades 4-5)
1967-1968	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 7-8), ? (grades 3-6)
1968-1969	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), G. S. Miller (grades 7-8), ? (grades 3-6)
1969-1970	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), G. S. Miller (grades 7-8), Leona Marie Timmerman (grades 3-4)
1970-1971	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3, September; grades 1-2, October - pt January; kindergarten & grades 1-2, pt January - June), Peter Deczycia (grades 7-8), Sharon Diane Marks (grades 3-4), Norah Arlene Sundell (grades 4-6, September - pt October; grades 5-6, pt October - June)
1971-1972	Ronald Ivan Bell (grades 7-8), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Sharon Diane Marks (grades 4-6)
1972-1973	Ronald Ivan Bell (grades 7-8), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Annette Rita Pittet (grades 4-6)
1973-1974	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Sigridur Lenore Nordal (grades 4-6), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)
1974-1975	Laurie June Bush (grades 4-6), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)
1975-1976	Laurie June Bush (grades 4-6), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)
1976-1977	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Rebecca L. S. Lau (grades 4-6), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)
1977-1978	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Heather Dalene Grobb (grades 4-6), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)
1978-1979	Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8), ? (grades 4-6)
1979-1980	Monica Joan Charles (kindergarten & grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8), Robyn-Lee Gale Wright (grades 4-6)

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of Rathwell School (circa 1903) Source: Andrew Cunningham Postcard view of Rathwell School (1908) by Winnipeg Photo Company Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0082 Rathwell School (no date) by G. H. Robertson Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 90. Rathwell School commemorative monument with the former school building in the background (September 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.64916, W98.54918 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Local news [Miss Lola Duff is resigning her position in the Rathwell School ...],” Glenboro Gazette, 23 December 1904, page 1.

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

“Rathwell, Man”, Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, July 1919, Archives of Manitoba.

One Hundred Years in the History of the Rural Schools of Manitoba: Their Formation, Reorganization and Dissolution (1871-1971) by Mary B. Perfect, MEd thesis, University of Manitoba, April 1978.

Board of Education registers (A 0050), Archives of Manitoba.

Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Rathwell School District No. 578 - Daily Registers, GR10755, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Rathwell School District No. 578 - Daily Registers, GR14973, Archives of Manitoba.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Andrew Cunningham for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 March 2023

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